Downtown's dynamic decade

Friday

Apr 5, 2013 at 1:29 PM

Just five years ago, downtown Spartanburg was buzzing.

By TREVOR ANDERSON

Just five years ago, downtown Spartanburg was buzzing.New energy surrounded a spate of multi-million dollar ventures aimed at revitalizing the city after years of economic doldrums.Local officials and business leaders touted projects such as the Chapman Cultural Center, the Spartanburg Marriott, a reconstructed Morgan Square, QS/1’s new corporate headquarters, Hub-Bub and the Mary Black Rail Trail for leading a downtown renaissance.Their optimism was soon under threat as “the Great Recession” of 2008 ushered in an era of financial uncertainty that some worried might derail successes from the previous five years and hamper prospective growth.But while dark clouds loomed on the horizon, several brave souls forged ahead with new ventures and ideas, refusing to let their dreams for a brighter future and a better downtown fade.“I think we’ve made remarkable progress, and muddled our way through the economic downturn very well,” said former Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet. “A generation ago, we didn’t invest in downtown. That has changed in the last decade… This community ought to have a lot of pride and excitement about the investments and partnerships that have been made over the last five years.”A look back at some of the successes from the last five years reveals a changed downtown landscape. And leaders believe the momentum is building for more victories over the next few years. “I’m encouraged by the direction we’re headed in,” Barnet said. “Did everything happen perfectly, the way we expected? No. Might we be further down the road than we hoped? Yes. But if you look at all of the things that have happened both big and small, I think the people of this community should be very encouraged.”

VCOM, North Side DevelopmentA college’s momentous decision to build a medical school in the middle of an impoverished area near downtown during a recession was not only a surprise, but it is helping provide the impetus for revival on the city’s north side.In 2011, community leaders labeled the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine’s completed facility a “game changer” for the neighborhood and for downtown. The $30 million investment turned the former Spartan Mills site into the medical school’s Carolinas campus.“The choice to locate our campus in Spartanburg came about serendipitously,” said Dr. Tim Kowalski, vice dean of VCOM-Carolinas Campus. “When Spartanburg leaders learned VCOM was considering building a branch campus in the Charlotte area, they brought forward a proposal for the college to consider building its second campus in Spartanburg instead. There followed the establishment of a trusting relationship between VCOM, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Wofford College and the City of Spartanburg.”Kowalski said the first critical factor in VCOM’s decision to come to Spartanburg was its proximity to Spartanburg Regional Healthcare Center, which became its core hospital base.The school was able to develop a partnership with Wofford that allows VCOM students to take part in the student services and activities offered just two blocks away from its campus.“(VCOM) is honored to be considered a major influence in the continued growth and economic vitality of downtown Spartanburg,” Kowalski said. “It is a great benefit to our prospective students to offer such a wide variety of options for living, entertainment and staying active in close proximity to our campus.”A year earlier, a “think tank,” the Northside Advisory Committee, led by Barnet, was organized to take the lessons learned from the revitalization of the south side and build similar energy and interest there. From that, the city and community partners raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase rundown, abandoned homes—but that was only the first step in a long journey toward revitalization.The city and the Northside Development Corp., a nonprofit group formed to purchase land and some old, foreclosed or abandoned homes with private dollars gifted or loaned, began buying vacant homes near VCOM in hopes of revitalizing the area.In 2012, the city partnered with Purpose Built Communities, an Atlanta-based group with experience in rebuilding languishing areas. And, in October, the city became one of only 17 communities in the country to be awarded a $300,000 federal grant for community redevelopment from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Coupled with plans for a healthy food hub and major changes at Spartanburg School District 7’s Cleveland Academy of Leadership, formerly Cleveland Elementary School, the Northside is in the midst of a sea change that is likely to continue in the upcoming year.A new T.K. Gregg Recreation Center will soon be built on the north side.Barnet commended others in the community who invested in downtown during the recession. He encouraged residents to continue to support the businesses that have opened and said their patronage will continue to attract new investments.

Extended Stay Hotels BuildingIn the spring of 2011, Extended Stay Hotels announced that it planned to relocate its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, N.C., after only seven years in downtown at 100 Dunbar St. at Morgan Square.Community leaders worried the company’s departure would leave a gaping hole in downtown, taking away about 150 jobs and casting a pall on one of the city’s most aesthetically pleasing buildings.That changed last year, however, when Spartanburg-based OTO Development LLC, a developer and operator if hotels in dynamic markets along the East and West Coasts of the country, moved its headquarters into the building. OTO’s corporate office was originally located at the Bell Hill office park.“We could have located the company anywhere… We have no hotels in South Carolina,” said Corry Oakes, CEO and founder of OTO, and a former ESH executive. “Spartanburg is home. We are all passionately committed to creating a place where our children can grow up and have good jobs and opportunities. There is a tremendous amount of excitement around downtown and it’s continuing to build.”OTO wasn’t the only company to capitalize on ESH’s exit.Spartanburg-based American Credit Acceptance Inc., a company founded by local business legend George Dean Johnson Jr., moved some its operations into the building.Johnson said the company currently has about 800 employees in downtown.

The “George”The University of South Carolina Upstate unveiled its new $30 million George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics in May 2010 at 160 E. St. John St. in downtown Spartanburg.A crowd numbering in the hundreds gathered in a courtyard at the 60,000-square-foot, three-story facility, nicknamed “The George,” to celebrate its completion and to honor the Spartanburg businessman for whom it is named.Local leaders said the school represented a significant step forward for the university as well as the local economy.The building features nine classrooms loaded with state-of-the-art technology that can accommodate between 28 and 88 students at a time. There are also seven conference and breakout rooms, a three-story atrium, outdoor plaza with benches, 28 offices for faculty and staff, and three art galleries with exhibits from the Johnson Collection.The top floor is in the process of being converted in to a center that eventually will be used to support start-up and incubation services for small businesses and other academic outreach initiatives.A key feature that sets the business school apart from its artistic neighbor the Chapman Cultural Center is a LED stock ticker on the fašade of the building that keep its 1,000 students and passersby informed of the trading markets.“I believe (downtown Spartanburg) is headed in the right direction,” Johnson said. “If downtown is not successful, Spartanburg County will not be successful. You have to have a dynamic city that will attract people from all over the county… and be something they can take pride in.”

Spartanburg Downtown Memorial AirportIn November 2011, local leaders celebrated the completion of a renovation of one of the city’s main gateways—the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport.The city spent about $4.4 million, which includes federal funds, to preserve the 76-year-old terminal building. Additional space was added in the front to include office and conference space, a pilot’s lounge and an aviation tower. A playground was added at the site with hopes of attracting interest from younger generations in aviation. The terminal building also houses War Bird aviation artifacts and historic paintings.Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport, the state’s first commercial airport, has played host to such aviation legends as Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and World World I fighter ace and former Eastern Air Lines President Eddie Rickenbacker.

Carolina Alliance Bank HeadquartersIn May 2008, Carolina Alliance Bank expanded the footprint of downtown Spartanburg’s central business district past Broad Street with the opening of its $4 million headquarters at the corner of Kennedy and South Church streets.The three-story, 22,000-square-foot building has a cast-stone exterior, strong angular lines and pedestrian-friendly landscaping and sidewalks in keeping with the “new urbanism” movement that was described in the city’s proposed master plan for downtown.

Coffee, Cakes and BooksThe Hub City Writers Project opened a new chapter in the story of downtown Spartanburg’s revitalization in June 2010 with the launch of a nonprofit book store.The 2,000-square-foot Hub City Bookshop is on the ground floor of the 85-year-old Masonic Temple Building near the intersection of Daniel Morgan Avenue and West Main Street.A coffee bar operated by Little River Roasting Co. and a Cakeheads Bakery opened in an adjacent 2,600-square-foot space, finishing off the $231,000 venture sponsored by private funds and a small grant awarded by the city.

R.J. Rockers Brewery DowntownIn August 2009, R.J. Rockers’ founder, president and brewer Mark Johnsen, brought his company back to downtown in the former Salvation Army building on the corner of West Main Street and Daniel Morgan Avenue. The beer brand got a boost when local investors John Bauknight and Nick Wildrick acquired an ownership stake in the company.The brewery included space for two other bar businesses, Main Street Pub and the Tap Room. The Tap Room shuttered, but Main Street Pub has continued to thrive.

New Downtown Dining SpotsIn July 2009, Wild Wing Cafe reopened. The restaurant was shuttered in December 2008 after its parent company, Charleston-based Wings Over America Inc., revoked the franchise rights of its former owners. Wings Over America reinvested in the location and brought on a new team of managers and employees under its corporate banner.In July 2011, Main Street Pub owners Ryan Traywick and Raj Patel and their business partner William Cribb, proprietor and head chef of Cribb’s Kitchen, open their joint venture Cribb’s Kitchen on Main.The 198-seat eatery is at 226-B W. Main St., in a 4,700-square-foot space adjacent to the brewery. Four months after Cribb’s opening, Zarza Eclectic Cuisine, a 120-seat Latin and American fusion eatery, launched at 149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue below Hub-Bub in the 5,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Braveheart’s. The business is owned by Venezuelan-born Jose Landa; his wife, Jackie Landa; and their partner Bill Clark, a local real estate investor.In the spring of 2012, two downtown restaurants damaged by fire Monsoon Noodle House and Delaney’s Irish Pub reopened after lengthy construction layovers. Customers have positively raved over the improvements made to both eateries.In February, local restaurateurs Chris and Denise VandenBerghe World War-themed eatery Wild Ace Pizza and Pub to downtown in the 3,500-square-foot former Justin’s Steakhouse space within the historic Citizens and Southern National Bank Building near Morgan Square. The restaurant is expected to open this April.

Spartanburg Marriott FaceliftThe Spartanburg Marriott in June unveiled its new dining and lounge areas after a nearly $2 million renovation to freshen up the hotel’s image.In the spaces that formerly housed the Marriott’s 299 bar and Dupre’s restaurant, the hotel opened its integrated bar called Mesh and fire-inspired grill named Sparks. The hotel also beefed up the amenities on its patio, which is now referred to as The Terrace.The renovations, the first since the 270-room hotel opened in 2003, are part of the changes agreed to when Southern Management Group purchased the facility in January 2011. The group previously said it planned to reinvest $3 million in the hotel during a three-year period.

The “Grain District”In February 2011, a symbol of downtown Spartanburg’s emerging arts and entertainment hub coined the Grain District was razed.The 100-foot-tall conjoined concrete grain silos located on the 7.25-acre former Spartan Grain plant site came crumbling down amid clouds of dust, which resembled plumes of flour that blanketed the site during its heyday around the turn of the 20th century.The property’s owner, Roger Snyder, principal of Snyder Investments Inc. and Snyder Electric Co., said he tried to save the silos—including a cache of metal grain silos, a feed mill and other metal structures—from earlier demolition.Local leaders are hopeful the site will eventually attract the kind of development that could transform downtown. Meanwhile, there are several projects underway that are expected to have an impact in the coming year.

The Iron Yard AcceleratorLocal business leaders are backing a new venture they think could be a catalyst for Spartanburg County’s economic future.The Iron Yard LLC, a Greenville-based business accelerator that was launched in May by former Wall Street stock broker and computer guru Peter Barth, is headed for downtown Spartanburg.It will occupy 7,000 square feet of an existing space adjacent to Hub-Bub at 149 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. Renovations are under way. Barth said he expects the facility to be completed this spring and intends to start the first session on July 15.The focus of the accelerator is to help young entrepreneurs develop their burgeoning technology concepts and hit the ground running, as well as to create a thriving community for technology startups.The Spartanburg accelerator is being supported by a list of prominent business people and companies, who hope it will forge new economic development opportunities and elevate Spartanburg County among the world’s top places for technology startups.That list includes Johnson, Mike Russ, Foster Chapman, former Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet, Bauknight, Jimmy Gibbs, Jack McBride of Contec Inc., Bill Cobb of JM Smith Corp., Mary Black Health System, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Denny’s chief executive John C. Miller and J. Patrick O’Shaughnessy of Advance America Inc.“I think if we’re going to accelerate the growth of downtown, we’ve got to create jobs,” Johnson said. “We need people living and working in downtown. I am committed to creating jobs… It’s going to take all of us working together. I always say that the best companies are homegrown. That’s because they’re from the area and they are typically committed to seeing it prosper.”

Keeping Downtown’s History AliveLocal leaders are hopeful that three renovation projects going on downtown will soon bear fruit and breathe new life into efforts to preserve the city’s historic buildings.VCOM is reconstructing the 127-year-old DuPre House adjacent to its campus.The home was built in 1886 off North Church Street by William Wallace Duncan, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but it was moved in 1999 to make way for the downtown Marriott.It was designed by Gottfried Norrman, a Swedish architect who also designed the Spartan Opera House and Spartan Inn. Norrman then moved to Atlanta, where he designed many Queen Anne-style structures in the city’s downtown.VCOM officials have not yet decided how the property will be used.Spartanburg Community College is spending $18 million to refurbish the Evans building across from Denny’s Tower for its new downtown campus that could eventually serve 800 students.The building was constructed in the early 1920s as Frank Evans High School and later used as Spartanburg High School.Restorations will focus on bringing back much of the building’s historic grandeur while making it functional and energy-efficient. The building is slated to receive a LEED silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.The college plans to hold classes there beginning in fall 2013.Just a few blocks from VCOM, another group of local investors is nearing completion of a project to remodel the former Oakman Glass building, also known as the old Oregon Hotel and Spartan Hotel.Bauknight, along with Andrew Babb, Nick Wildrick and Greg Atkins, are investing $2.7 million into the 100-year-old property on Magnolia Street into 27 studio and one-bedroom apartments. They will cater primarily to VCOM, Wofford and Converse students.Magnolia Lofts apartments are expected to open sometime in the early spring.

St. Paul’s New SanctuaryIn 2012, St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church held a groundbreaking ceremony recently for its long-awaited new sanctuary off East Main Street next to First Baptist Spartanburg.The 18,000 square-foot standalone church—wrapped in brick, accented by limestone with a Lombard Romanesque architectural style—will be four times the size of the current church and cost more than $9 million to construct.The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year and local leaders think it will further enhance the entrance corridor from Pine Street to downtown.

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